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Misleading your employee might cost you dearly
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De Bousquet PC of De Bousquet PC

Misleading your employee might cost you dearly

By Employment Law

In the recent decision of Gascon v Newmont Goldcorp, the court determined that misleading an employee as to the future of their employment can give rise to additional damages. In Gascon, an employer selling a mine knew that the General Manager would lose their employment as a result. Despite knowing that the new owner would not hire him back, the employer did not notify the plaintiff of his impending termination. The court ruled that the employer’s conduct was “untruthful, misleading and unduly insensitive” and ordered damages to be paid. In this case, the employers also refused to pay the employee’s…

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Jab Or Quit

By Employment Law

The controversial vaccine mandate has created a lot of uncertainty as many people have lost their jobs for refusing to receive the Covid vaccine. Too often, employees across the country are being told to make a choice, to either take the jab or to face consequences ranging from suspension to termination. While many employers believe that the government approval of the mandate gives them the legal right to discipline those refusing to be vaccinated, the consensus amongst employment lawyers is that refusing to get vaccinated does not justify an employee’s termination. This opinion is becoming mainstream as a number of…

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De Bousquet PC upholds employee’s right to 11 months’ pay in lieu of notice

By Employment Law, In Lieu of Payment, Notice Period

Whether it’s getting sick or being stuck indoors all the time, the pandemic has been a stressful time for many people. Add to that being terminated from your job at the peak of the pandemic with no reference letter to boot, and anyone would find themselves in quite the pickle. Unfortunately, this is exactly what happened to one of our clients which recently won his case in Saini v Rosedale Transport Limited.  After 10 years of faithful service with his employer, Mr. Saini was laid off during the 2020 COVID pandemic. Not long after his layoff, he was terminated due…

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You Could Be Entitled to More Than Two Years of Severance Pay

By Uncategorized

When an employee is terminated without cause after working at the company for a long time, they would be entitled to a large severance package under common law. The general formula is one month of pay in lieu of notice for one year of service at the company. However, there is a cap on that value, which is 24 months of pay. This means that if you worked in that company for 30 years or 40 years, the maximum amount you would be entitled to would still be 24 months, as opposed to 30 or 40 months of pay.  However,…

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Employment Law Toronto

Does Refusing to Follow the Vaccine Policy Allow My Employer to Terminate Me for Just Cause?

By Employment Law, Just Cause

Most workplaces have now implemented a COVID-19 vaccination policy that requires their employees to be fully vaccinated and provide proof of vaccination. However, a significant portion of workers has shown resistance to becoming vaccinated. In response, employers have taken various measures to enforce the vaccination policy – one of them being, terminating those who refuse to take the vaccine or disclose their proof of vaccination with just cause.  What is just cause for termination?  Just cause in the employment context means that an employee has done something that gives the employer a right to dismiss the employee immediately. When there…

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Employment Law Toronto

Is “Automatic Termination” in a Mandatory Vaccination Policy Enforceable?

By Employment Law

Background and Decision A recent decision by Arbitrator Misra held in favor of the union Healthcare, Office and Professional Employees Union, Local 2220. The employer Chartwell Housing Reit introduced a mandatory vaccination policy which included their right to terminate employees who refused to comply. The Arbitrator held that the policy was unreasonable and took the following provisions of the collective agreement between the employer and employee into consideration. The first relevant provision was that an employer must discuss changes with the union prior to making any meaningful change to workplace rules. The second relevant provision was that working conditions, benefits,…

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The Power Workers Union Covid-19 Vaccine Policy | De Bousquet PC, Barristers and Solicitors

The Power Workers Union Covid-19 Vaccine Policy

By Employment Law

Mandatory Vaccination Policies Must Be Reasonable The Power Worker’s Union (“PWU”) has won a victory for unions seeking to challenge employers’ mandatory vaccination policies. On November 11, 2021 Arbitrator Stout found that aspects of the Electrical Safety Authority’s (“ESA”) mandatory covid-19 vaccination policy to be unreasonable in the circumstances. This decision comes only two days after Arbitrator von Veh upheld a similar vaccination policy in United Food and Commercial Workers Union, Canada Local 333 v. Paragon Protection Ltd. (Paragon) that had been implemented at Paragon Protection Ltd. There are key findings in Arbitrator Stout’s decision that will inform future attempts…

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What You Need to Know about Ontario’s New Labour and Employment Laws | De Bousquet PC, Barristers and Solicitors

What You Need to Know about Ontario’s New Labour and Employment Laws

By Employment Law

Bill 27, the Working for Workers Act, has passed in the Ontario Legislature. The Act will reform several statutes of Ontario, including the Employment Standards Act (ESA). Most importantly, the Ontario Government has changed the rules surrounding work-related communications after working hours, and a new ban on most non-compete agreements. Disconnecting From Work The last 2 years have seen a huge increase in the number of workers working from home. To curb the encroachment of work on people’s lives, Ontario has also passed a new provision that requires employers to write and implement policies on “disconnecting from work”. Disconnecting from…

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Ontario Superior Court Issues First Interim Injunction of its Kind Against UHN Vaccine Mandate | De Bousquet PC, Barristers and Solicitors

Ontario Superior Court Issues First Interim Injunction of its Kind Against UHN Vaccine Mandate

By Employment Law

Update: On the afternoon of Friday, October 29, Justice Dunphy of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice lifted the temporary injunction that had paused the termination of a group of unvaccinated employees at UHN. Justice Dunphy held that the Court did not have the jurisdiction to grant the relief sought by the claimants. In his decision, he held that the unions alone had the authority to bring a claim of this nature and that the dispute should be heard through the labour relations system. Though this update answers some questions about the jurisdiction of the Court where unions are involved,…

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How much is a Good Severance Package?

By Employment Law

TLDR: It’s complicated. Long answer: It is a commonly held belief that you calculate an employee’s Common Law Notice (commonly referred to as severance, though that has a separate legal meaning) as one month’s salary for each completed year of service. This belief is incorrect. Common-Law Notice is far more complex than that, and the answer to what a person is entitled to can be a shock. What is considered appropriate changes not only due to the person’s age, job, experience, length at that job, previous jobs, education, health, but also the state of the world. It is important to…

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Have You Been Temporarily Laid Off Due to COVID? We Might Be Able to Help

By Employment Law

The last year and a half have brought pain and suffering for many. Whether it was losing your job, falling ill, or just adjusting to the harsh reality that is the new “normal,” we have all struggled. This is especially true for those people who have been laid off due to the repeated shutdowns, emergency orders, and changing landscape of society. But, unfortunately, some employers used this period of uncertainty and the COVID-19 pandemic as a carte-blanche to engage in some questionably legal practices. What is Constructive Dismissal? At a very basic level, constructive dismissal is when an essential term…

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